BY NOEL CUNNINGHAM
When you think of fried rice, I know the Chinese cuisine comes to mind. This fried rice is a taste of the Caribbean with Chinese influence. Fried rice is the perfect mid-week meal. It’s a great dish to use leftover food and transform it into a comfort dish everyone will enjoy. Not only is fried rice super easy to make, it’s also extremely adaptable.
This rice has a hint of spice and an earthy flavor from the callaloo. You can use either fresh or canned callaloo. I used fresh corn and carrots which takes it up a notch over the canned mixed vegetables.
Callaloo is a rich mineral leafy green vegetable similar to spinach. It is a staple in the Jamaican diet; sauté it with onions, scallions, and thyme to make a healthy vegetable side dish for breakfast.
Making fried rice is easy but getting it right does take a little know-how and tricks. Cold rice is key when making your fried rice. The reason why so many fried rice recipes call for leftover rice is because the cold rice gets much crispier in the skillet than the freshly cooked rice that has excess moisture. Use a very high flame, use a large enough skillet or wok to give the rice space to cook properly and fast enough, don’t overdo the sauce because your rice will become very mushy.
Here is your chance to make this quick fried rice like you get at your favorite Chinese restaurant with a Caribbean flair.
Serves: 2
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breast, skinless, boneless
- 2 tsp jerk marinade
- 1 tsp salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1 tsp chopped ginger
- ⅓ cup corn
- ⅓ cup diced carrot
- 1 cup cooked callaloo or raw
- 2 cups cooked rice, chilled
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 stalk chopped scallion
Directions
- Wash chicken breast and cut into strips then season with jerk marinade, salt and pepper and put aside.
- In a heated frying pan over high flame with oil sauté chicken breast until fully cooked through then add chopped ginger and garlic and stir for an extra 2 minutes to release the flavors.
- Add all the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cook for an additional 3 minutes while stirring then serve and top with extra chopped scallion and enjoy.
